Baltimore Ord. 21-0124, the Tenant Right to Counsel Ordinance enacted in 2021, guarantees free legal representation in eviction proceedings to income-eligible Baltimore tenants and is administered through the Office of Civil Justice.
Ordinance 21-0124 made Baltimore one of the first US cities to recognize a right to counsel in landlord-tenant rent-court matters. The Office of Civil Justice within the Mayor's Office partners with legal-aid providers to deliver representation to tenants at or below 50% of area median income facing failure-to-pay-rent, holdover, or breach-of-lease cases in District Court. The ordinance also requires landlords to deliver a city-prescribed notice of right to counsel with every eviction filing and allows tenants to raise lack of notice as an affirmative defense. Phased rollout achieved full coverage by FY2025.
Landlords who fail to serve the prescribed right-to-counsel notice may have their failure-to-pay-rent case dismissed without prejudice and face habitability counterclaims supported by appointed counsel.
Baltimore, MD
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Baltimore, MD
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